Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: The Search for Fire
by Janey-Cat
Summary: In the quiet village of Rose Falls, the resident rescue team, Team Iustus, had gone off on a mission several months ago, only to never return. Ember the Cyndaquil, son of Team Iustsus' leader, decides to take matters into his own paws and, with hrlp from his friends, goes off in search if his missing father to the ends of the Earth.
1. Chapter 1

**Five months ago...**

"When will you come back?" Ember whined softly, hugging his father's thigh. "You said this is the farthest you've gone!"

Fire-Heart chuckled softly, rubbing the Cyndaquil's head affectionately. "I'll be back in a two months. Sage and Tsunami will keep me safe."

"B-But what if-"

The Typhlosion pulled him into a hug, silencing him. "Oh, Ember... I don't know the future. Even a Xatu has no idea whether the future it sees is the one set in stone." He kissed his forehead. "I promise that I'll come back. You'll wait for me?"

Ember nodded, sniffling and wiping his nose. "I-I promise, Daddy..."

"That's my boy." He grinned and set him down. "I'll bring something cool back for you!"

"Fire-Heart!" yelled a Serpirior near the town gate. He stood next to a Swampert, who was tapping his foot in impatience. "Tsunami is threatening to leave you behind!"

"Coming, Sage!" He turned back to his son. "You be good while I'm gone, you hear?"

"Yes, Daddy!"

"Good boy." He nuzzled him one last time before heading off with his teammates. He stopped at the end of the road and waved back to his son. Ember waved back enthusiastically, wiping Wm away tears with his other paw as he watched his father disappear from view.

Little did the little Cyndaquil know that his father would not be returning to him in two months...


	2. Chapter 2

**Now...**

Ember watched the gate with worried eyes. He kept telling himself everyday that his father would come back any day now. Everyday at noon, he'd wait for Fire-Heart, and his little heart would grow heavier and heavier with grief.

A Stoutland padded up next to him and sat down, looking down at the Cyndaquil with sympathy. "Laddie... ye know that yer dad will come home..."

"I know, Auntie Hilda." He looked up at her. "But he said he'd be back months ago..."

"Well, go play wit' yer friends! Ye can't waste yer life just moping about! Yer dad would have a fit if he knew I let Ye do this kinda thing!" She nudged him away from the gate with her nose, tickling him a little with her beard. "Get goin', boy, a'fore I decide to ground ye!"

The Cyndaquil huffed at his caretaker before he ran off. She was a very nice Pokémon, but boy! could she be harsh when she wanted. He went to the playground to go meet up with his friends Yen and Gregory. They usually hung out there around this time.

On the playground, a Deino was chasing a Meowth around the jungle gym. The cat Pokémon was laughing as she ran over equipment. "Can't catch me, Gregory!"

"No fair!" Gregory whined, pawing at the ladder. "You know I can't climb well!" He turned to look over at Ember and grinned. "Ember! Come help me catch her! She's cheating!"

"Am not! Don't believe a word he says!" Yen swat at the Deino below her through the bars. "He's just sore that he can't climb!"

The Cyndaquil giggled, hopping onto Gregory's back and using him to propel himself onto the landing next to Yen. The Meowth yow led and ran from him, and he chased her all the way to the slide. Gregory ran around to the bottom of the slide and tried to climb up to meet them. Ember pushed Yen down the slide and slid after her, both of them crashing into the Deino at the bottom, ending up in a giggling pile on the ground.

They stopped when a mail Pelliper flew overhead and landed on a fence post. Hilda talked to it and received a letter before it flew away to deliver other packages. As she read the letter, the kids could see her face change from stern to grieving.

She ran over to them and put the letter away, trying to hold back tears. "Ember, we got a letter... its about yer father..."

He wiggled out of the pile and looked up at her with wide eyes. "We got a letter from dad?! What's it say? How is he?"

"No, sweetheart..." She pulled him close. "The Rescue Team Organization sent us a letter... we should go inside to talk about this..."

"Can we come?" Gregory asked her, waddling up next to the Stoutland. Yen followed him.

"Of... of course. Come along." She led the kids to her home, the three behind her looking at each other in concern and worry.


	3. Chapter 3

Ember, Yen, and Gregory sat down on some of the many cushions that littered Hilda's home. The Stoutland took a seat on the largest cushion and sighed quietly, looking over the children. "I shoulda told ye this months ago..."

"Tell me what?" Ember asked softly, wringing his little paws together.

"The R.T.O. has been investigatin' the disappearance if team Iustus for the past three months-"

"What do you mean, 'disappearance'?!" Yen glared at her suspiciously. "You kept saying that they were still on the mission!"

She looked down at the Meowth with a stern expression, silencing her. "As I was sayin', they have finally found a lead on what happened ta them. Did yer dad ever tell ye what his mission was?"

Ember shook his head quietly, allowing her to continue.

"Yer dad was sent ta investigate the disappearances of Pokémon in the Twilight Forests beyond the Wintershed Mountains. Explorers have been tryin' ta map out beyond the forests, but they never came back." She pulled out the letter the Pelliper had delivered to her, and showed it to the kids. "The R.T.O found yer father's bandanna at the edge of the Forests. They have declared team Iustus M.I.A."

"What does that mean?" Yen asked, her tail curling around her paws.

Gregory answered her question. "It means 'Missing in Action.' They can't find them."

The Cyndaquil between them trembled as tears fell down his face. "N-No... he aid he'd come back..."

Yen delicately put a paw on his shoulder. "Ember..."

"He said he'd come back!" Flames shot out of the spots near his neck, making his friends jump away from him to escape a burn. He was sobbing loudly and trying to wipe his eyes. "He promised me he'd come back!"

Hilda looked at him with teary eyes of her own. "Laddie-"

"SHUT UP!" he screamed, running out of the house as fast as his little legs could carry him. He ignored the shouts of his friends and aunt. He didn't even care where he was running to, but he just ran until he couldn't run anymore.

When he finally stopped running, he wiped his eyes of tears and looked around. He was on a little cliff next to the falls his village was named after. A bench rested under a lone tree on this cliff, and he sat on it and looked out on the village below. His father used to take him up here when he came back to the village after missions.

Tears fell down his cheeks again. His dad wasn't coming back. He was probably lost out there, cold, hungry, and tired in the wilderness. Maybe he was even...

"DADDYYYY!" he sobbed, holding his face in his paws. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop crying. He cried for his father, needing to feel his arms around his tiny body. But that would never happen again. The little Cyndaquil cried himself to sleep on that bench.

* * *

 _Fire-Heart raced through the dark woods at a break-neck pace. Something was after him. He had to find Sage and Tsunami before It got them like it did the other Pokémon that came into these woods._

 _He could feel it getting closer. He wasn't built for speed. He just hoped he could keep ahead of it long enough to escaped. But he knew it was a pointless dream._

 _He had to keep running. For the_ _Pokémon he had to save. For his teammates. For his Ember, the light of his world._

 _"Never stop running," he told himself._

 _Never._

 _Stop._

 _Running._


	4. Chapter 4

Ember grumbled softly as he awoke. A beam of sunlight was shining in his eyes trough the tree branches above. The sun was well above the horizon, and the village Pokémon were starting to go about their days. He sat up and watched them quietly, going over the previous day's information in his head.

Team Iustus was missing in action. Meaning that they could be dead, or even worse. He couldn't help but imagine a group of terrible, evil Pokémon hurting his father and his teammates in some dark cave on the other side of the world.

"Or..." he said to himself, a newer, brighter thought popping into his head, "they could need help... a-and no other teams can get to them!" Hope filled his tiny chest, and he stood up in his excitement. "I could go help them! With a team of my own!"

"But... I don't have a team..." He deflated a little bit at the realization. "I'm only a kid, so going out there by myself would be impossible... where would I even get Pokémon to go with me?"

A gentle cough interrupted his reverie, causing him to turn and look. Yen and Gregory sat on the ground behind the bench with smiles on their faces. "We would," the Meowth said happily.

He looked down at them in confusion. "R-Really? You guys would really make a team with me?"

"'Course we would," Gregory chirped happily. "It sounds like fun!"

"B-But, we'll be gone a long time! Won't you be homesick or something?"

Yen shrugged. "So? We can't just let you go out there alone. You'd only get yourself into a whole mess of trouble." She hopped onto the Bench and sat next to him, watching their Deino friend struggle to climb up with them. "Besides, we'd miss you if you left us behind."

"Yeah! We're your friends, and friends stick together!" Gregory nuzzled Ember's cheek happily. "That's what your dad's team always said!"

Ember nodded in agreement. "Yeah! Let's go ask Auntie Hilda if we can go!"

The trio cheered, running down the cliff and down to the village, eager to hear her response.

* * *

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" The Stoutland glared down at the three Pokémon in front of her. They flinched at her volume, looking at their feet. "What on Earth made ye think it was a good idea?!"

"W-Well, we thought that we could go look for Dad..." Ember said quietly.

Hilda growled softly at him. "Yer too young ta be doin' somethin' so dangerous! What if ye got hurt, or lost!?"

Yen glared back at her, her light für bristling. "We'd be fine on our own! We're not little kids!"

"Ye may as well be, young lady!"

Gregory cleared his throat, directing the angry Stoutland's attention onto himself. "Ms. Hilda, we just wanted to go find Fire-Heart. We're the right age and strength to become a Rescue Team. I looked it up and everything."

She sighed loudly, shaking her head. "Ye kids aren't gonna let this go, are ye?" She sat down and looked them over with tired eyes. "I'll think about it. I'll tell ye tomorrow what my decision is."

They nodded, grinning to each other in excitement before running outside.


	5. Chapter 5

"Well, that could've gone better..." Yen said sourly from her swing, her paws dangling over the ground. The trio had returned to the playground to wait for Hilda's decision. Her initial response had disappointed them, but at least she was considering it.

Gregory nodded next to her. "Yeah. I hope she really does let us go. We could really help a lot of Pokémon."

"Like Team Iustus...?"

The pair turned to the merry-go-round, upon which Ember sat sullenly. He was starIng at his feet, and hadn't said a word up until now. He really worried them.

The Deino slid out of his swing and waddlEd over to the little Cyndaquil, sitting next to him on the merry-go-round. "Ember?" he asked softly. "You okay?"

Ember shrugged. "What if she says no? What will we do then?"

"Then we forget about her and go sign ourselves up!" The boys looked at Yen with wide eyes at her outburst. The Meowth hopped onto the ground in front of him, a defiant look in her eyes. "She can't stop us from applying! We're old enough to do it by ourselves! Right, Gregory?" Said Deino nodded. "Right! Then we go up to the post office, grab an application, fill it out, and mail it out on the next Pelliper in town, even if she says no!"

"What're you guys talking about?" A group of younger kids came up to them to see what they were doing. A Flabebé at the front asked the question. "Isn't that dangerous?"

Yen shrugged. "Well, yeah, but nothing is 100% safe, ya know?" They were bombarded with questions in response.

"What if you get lost?"

"Or hurt?"

"What will you call yourselves?"

"Are you gonna come back?"

"Can we come with you when we grow up?"

"Are you gonna find our daddies?" The last question made everyone fall silent and turn their attention to the source of the voice. A Skiddo and a Wooper near the back came up near the front, looking at the ground shyly. Everyone recognized them as Sage and Tsunami's kids, Rosemary and Levey. The latter spoke up once more. "You're gonna go out there to find our dads, right?"

Ember nodded, looking down at them. "You guys got that letter too, didn't you?"

Rosemary nodded, sniffling. "Mommy and I think he's alive out there, and the no on else could find them..." She wiped her nose with her hoof, standing tall as hope radiated off of her. "But I believe you can do it! You're the toughest kids in the village!"

Levey bounced on his feet. "Me too! I believe in you!" This set off the entire group of kids in a rounds of "I believe in you, too!" and "Me too!"

Ember, Gregory stared at the crowd in disbelief. "You really believe in us...?" The cheer they got in response filled them with elation and confidence. Maybe they really could do it, just like Team Iustus!

The Cyndaquil stood up on the bench and grinned, his back ablaze with excitement. "Then we'll do it! We're gonna save Team Iustus, and bring them home!"

"We'll become greater than they will!" Gregory chirped.

"And no one will beat us!" Yen purred, her für poofing up with excitement.

The kids cheered and swarmed the merry-go-round to play with their new heroes. Adults watched them with amusement, unaware of all the plans being made. Only one, Hilda, knew how serious the trio were. She didn't want Ember to go off into danger, but... he was just like his father.

She picked up her grocery basket and headed to the market. She had some very important things to pick up for her favorite little band of heroes tomorrow.

* * *

Ember ran into Hilda's house as quickly as he could. Even hours after the commotion on the playground, he was still pumped. He just had to tell Auntie Hilda.

"Auntie Hilda! Auntie Hilda!" he called. He ran into the kitchen and found the Stoutland baking with some berries, and bounded up to her. "Guess what happened today!"

"Hmmmm..." Her face scrunched up in thought. "Did ye go swimming?"

He giggled. "Nope!"

"Did ye win that game Ye insist Yen cheats at?"

"Not even that! Guess again!"

She chuckled. "Oh, laddie, yer too good at these guessin' games o' yours." She mashed up some Cheri berries. "Could Ye grab some Persims from the basket?"

The Cyndaquil grabbed some Persims from the basket and gave them to his caretaker. "You gotta guess!"

"I will, I will..." She continued mashing. "I need some Oran berries now, sweetheart."

He went back to the basket and dug through it. "I don't see any Oran berries, Auntie..."

Hilda chuckled to herself, smiling. "Check near the bottom, sweetheart."

Ember did as told and kept digging, stopping when he found something out of place. A packet of paper rested at the bottom of the basket, the letters R.T.O. in bold letters on the top. He picked it up and examined it in confusion. "Auntie...? What is this?"

"An application form. I'm lettin' ye go." She turned to look at him, smiling sadly, yet warmly. "I remember when yer father decided to make his own rescue team. He was about your age. I couldn't stop him from signing up and going, and I know I can't stop you, either." She pulled him into a hug, nuzzling his cheek. "I love both o' ye with all my heart. Yer my whole world."

The Cyndaquil returned the hug and buried his face in her thick fur. "I love you too Auntie..."

Hilda smiled lovingly at him. "Now, how about we go finish up this berry pie?"

"Yes, ma'am!" He went to work alongside her, the two chatting away into the night.


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning, the trio sat on the bench on the cliff. Their chatter and bickering could be heard a bit from the village below, and some of the children listened from lower on the path. Ember, Gregory, and Yen were arguing over the name of their team.

"It should totally be the Money Makers, guys!" Yen huffed, her tail flicking in irritation.

"No one agreed the first seven times, so no one will agree to it now," Gregory growled quietly, his head on his paws. "It sounds greedy, and no one wants a greedy team."

She rolled her eyes. "Like Team Awesomeness was any better?"

He growled loudly at her, digging his claws into the bench. "At least it doesn't make us sound like greedy jerks!"

"SHUT UP!" Ember yelled, his back flaring up. "Let me think for a second!"

"Sorry..." They mumbled, looking down at their paws.

The Cyndaquil glared at them a bit before thinking quietly. He wanted the name to be special, to mean something to those who heard it. Like his dad's team. Iustus meant 'righteous', but he didn't want it to be like his. It had to be different. Something like...

"Ancora...?"

His friends looked up at him in confusion. "Wasn't that your mom's name?"

He nodded. "Dad said it meant 'peace'. I thought it was appropriate."

Yen grinned. "Well, I like it better than my amazing idea! What about you, Gregory?"

"Yeah! Write it down!" He gave a pencil to Ember, bouncing eagerly. "Then we can sign it and turn it in!"

Ember picked up the pencil and wrote the name down at the top of the packet, then signed his name. He passed the sheet to Yen, and she passed it to Gregory when she finished. Once all three of them signed it, they ran down to the post office, followed by the village kids. All of them were excited for what adventures lay ahead.

* * *

 _Fire-Heart clawed his way deeper through the brush, ignoring the sting of the thorns digging into his skin. He had managed to lose the monster for now, but how long would that last?_

 _With a look around him, he hunkered down under a fallen tree and allowed himself to rest. Everything hurt like it was being stabbed by a burning rod. Even his lungs left like they would explode. He searched through Tsunami's bag for any berries. He'd found it a few days ago while on the run. He knew that his teammates had fallen prey to the monster before he could save them._

 _He grinned tiredly when he found some Persim berries in the bag, and took one out and popped it into his mouth. Arceus above, did he love Persims..._

 _"Hello, big boy..." came a sickeningly sultry voice. He looked up in horror to see a familiar and very unwelcome Delpox. She smirked down at him with a full set of sharp teeth, the end of her wand lighting the woods with a red light._

 _"M-Magick... What are you doing here...?"_

 _"Weeeeeeeellll, after you so rudely kicked me out of that... quaint little village of yours, I spoke to a very powerful Pokémon about a very personal issue." Her eyes glowed brightly, and Fire-Heart felt his body stiffen and levitate out of his hiding place. She kissed the end of his snout lovingly, ignoring his angry snarl._

 _"Get away from me, you monster!" He struggled against the Psychic she used on him. "You took my Ancora away from me!"_

 _"Temper, temper! You'll change your mind when my master is done with you..."_


	7. Chapter 7

The delivery Pelipper, Smiley, flapped its wings as it descended on Rose Falls Village. As he was placing mail and packages into the appropriate mailboxes at the post office, he was startled by the sudden squeals of excited children directly behind him. He turned to see Ember, Yen, Gregory, and all the village kids practically bouncing with excitement, their combined chatter unintelligible.

"O-One at a time, please!" he squawked, his feathers ruffling. The kids fell silent, all looking at the trio at the front. He looked at them too, raising an eyebrow. "Well?"

Ember spoke up first. "Do you have a package from the R.T.O.?"

He searched through his leathery beak pouch, examining different packages carefully. "Uhhh... No, I don't- Ooh, wait a minute!" Smiley pulled out a rather large package wrapped in brown paper with the R.T.O. insignia stamped onto it. "You kids Team Ancora?"

"Yeah!" The Meowth chirped at his feet. "That's ours! We're gonna be a rescue team!"

"Whoa-ho! You kids must be tough stuff." He handed them the package with an amused smile. "Hope you're successful."

"Thanks, Mr. Smiley!" The swarm of children ran off, squealing at chattering excitedly as they went.

The Pelipper chuckled, sifting through the rest of the mail. He had a lot of mail to go through.

* * *

"Open it!" Gregory shouted excitedly as they got to the playground. The trio was perched on the bench on the cliff, and all the younger kids sat around them on the ground or in the tree. The sheer excitement in the air was almost palpable.

Ember pulled off the paper with a loud rip and examined the contents. There was a leather bag with their team name embroidered on the cover, some badges, a few teal bandanas and a note from the heads of the R.T.O. themselves.

A collective gasp of "What's it say?" echoed through the crowd of children. Rosemary took the note and read it aloud for everyone to hear. "'Dear Team Ancora, we wish you well on your future missions. We at the Rescue Team Organization are all here to support you if you need us, and we all hope you can become one of the best teams in the land." Her eyes narrowed as she tried to read the additional note. It was handwritten, unlike the rest, which had been typed. "'P-P.S., We know of Team Iustus's disappearance several months ago, and you have our full support in your search for them. All three of us wish you kids luck, and we pray for your safe return home. Send us a letter if you need any assistance. Signed, Orion the Metagross, Horacio the Gallade, and Anubis the Lucario."

Everyone gasped in awe at the letter. The elite of the elite, the team all others strived to be like, were actually willing to help these three kids.

"Holy Miltank..." Yen murmured softly, her eyes wide. "Are they serious...?"

"I-I think so..." Gregory took the note from the Gogoat and reread it quietly. "Dude... this is amazing..."

The kids all nodded, all shocked into silence. Until the shock turned to joy, and one-by-one, everyone began to laugh and cheer ecstatically, chanting "Team Ancora! Team Ancora!" over and over.


	8. Chapter 8

"Now, ye remembered to pack some blankets?" Hilda asked as she straightened up the children's appearances.

"Yes ma'am," they replied.

"Berries?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Water canteens?"

"WE'VE GOT EVERYTHING!" Yen snapped, her fur bristled in annoyance. "We gotta go! There's a whole world waiting out there for us!"

She sighed softly and looked down at the three young adventurers standing before her. "I know... I just want ye to be prepared for anythin'..." The Stoutland smiled fondly and wiped her eye with her paw before any tears fell into her beard. "I'm so proud o' ye children..."

They all smiled back at her. "Thank you, Auntie Hilda..." Ember said softly. "For everything."

"Yeah," Gregory chimed in. "We couldn't have done this without you."

"Oh, dearies..." Hilda sniffled, not even trying to stop the tears anymore. "Ye look just like Team Iustus when they were setting off on their first adventure together... I pray ye have a safe journey to Sandstone Town."

"We will!" they chirped.

She nodded, nudging them to the town gate. "Alright, then. Off ye go, before I change my mind!"

The trio hugged her tightly one last time before running down the path. Other Pokémon from the village waved to them and shouted their farewells to them as loudly as they could. The loudest were the village children, who practically screamed their little heads off to make sure their new heroes heard them. Team Ancora stopped at the hill in front of the town and looked back at Rose Falls and its residents one last time.

"We might not come back, will we...?" Gregory asked softly. They had talked about this before, but now that they were out of the village, the prospect seemed so much more real.

Ember hesitantly nodded. "Yeah... but it'll be worth it. We'll help others, and we might even find Team Iustus."

"Yeah!" Yen nuzzled Gregory to comfort him a bit. "We'll be heroes!"

This made the Deino brighten up. "Yeah... Heroes..."

* * *

"Soooo, how far is it to Sandstone Town?"

Ember looked at the map before answering Yen's question. "It's about a day's journey, at this pace. It shouldn't be too hard."

"Does that mean we have to sleep outside tonight?" Yen scowled at the very idea that she, a creature if pure beauty and grace, would sleep outside like a rufgian.

Gregory rolled his eyes. "You better get used to it. This is how we'll sleep most of the time."

"WHAT?!"


	9. Chapter 9

Ember sighed as he listened to Yen and Gregory squabble behind him. They'd been walking all day and, at the pace they were going, it felt like they hadn't even made it halfway yet. Thankfully, the weather had been very nice and no rogues or scoundrels had tried to stop them on their journey. They'd even met a nice Dedenne family who'd given them a nice lunch not too long ago. It'd been an altogether pleasant journey.

He could, however, do without his teammates fighting over Arceus knows what behind him.

"I'm telling you, it doesn't work that way!"

"Yes, it does!"

"No!"

He stopped abruptly and glared at the Meowth and Deino, making them bump into him. "What are you two bickering about?! My ears are about to fall off!"

"You don't have ears..." Yen muttered sassily, her tail curling in contempt.

"You know what I mean, Yen. Can you two knock it off?"

Gregory nodded, his head lowered in embarrassment. "Sorry..."

He sighed, looking up to the sky. The sun was starting to set behind the mountains to the west. Night would be shortly upon them. "We'd better set up camp for the night, guys. It's too dangerous to keep going for now. Who knows what kind of jerks may be out there in the dark."

Yen grinned and grabbed the bag from Gregory. "Leave it to me! I'll set up camp! You two should get some firewood!" She bounded towards a group of bushes near the edge of the woods they'd been walking near.

"W-Wait! Where are you setting it up!?" Gregory called.

"Just behind the bushes! There's a hollow tree big enough for all the kids in Rose Falls to sleep in!" She pushed aside the bushes to show them. Sure enough, there was a large oak tree wide enough to fit dozens of kids with room to spare. The ground inside didn't have much moss or grass, and an old chest sat in the back. There was even three large, but very old and worn nests to sleep on. "Perfect to sleep in! Heck, we could probably live here!"

Ember grinned at it. "My dad told me about this tree! He and Team Iustus used it as a rest stop when they were in the area!" He ran inside and sat in the one closest to the entrance. "This must be his!"

Yen smiled and nuzzled him. "That's great! However, you can go down memory lane later. Go get firewood."

He nodded, running back out to grab wood with Gregory. The boys returned after a few minutes and started a fire to warm the tree. The little Cyndaquil lay in his dad's nest, while Gregory and Yen shared one. Possibly Tsunami's, considering all the mud caked on it.

"I can't wait for tomorrow! We'll get to meet the R.T.O. founders! We'll become an official team!" Gregory chirped.

"We'll get to meet all sorts of Pokémon!" added Yen. "And we'll make our own money, like grown ups!"

"We may even find my dad!" Ember hunkered down into his dad's nest with a yawn. "Good night, guys."

"Night!" called his friends as they snuggled into each other. The trio nodded off not too long afterwards, dreaming o all the things they could do once they got to Sandstone Town.

* * *

A sudden chill awoke Ember, making him sit upright and look around. The forest was dark without the light of the moon, and the fire had gone out long ago. Despite having been dead asleep not moments before, he was completely awake now.

Malevolent snickers from outside grabbed his attention. A group of five Pokémon, still hidden by the cover of darkness, slunk towards the tree. Once they drew closer, he saw that they were a group of Scraggy led by a nasty looking Scrafty.

"Well well well..." sneered the Scrafty. The Scraggy snickered in anticipation. "Looks like we got ourselves some wanna-be heroes!

Yen and Gregory had been startled awake by the noise. The meowth was hissing angrily, her fur bristling. "Get lost!"

"Why should I listen to a kitten like you? However, we might just do that if you give us all of your supplies."

"WHAT?!" Ember's back blazed in his anger. "No way! We need that to get to Sandstone!"

"Aww... such a shame." He grabbed a tree branch as his gang grinned. "Looks like we'll just have to take it from you by force! Boys! Take everything they've got!"

The Scraggies lunged towards the tree, laughing almost maniacally in their eagerness to serve. The kids were heavily outnumbered and outgunned, but they had to fight back. They weren't cowards.

However, no Scraggy made it to the entrance. A large shape swung into the gang in a pendulum like fashion, slamming into them with a loud wham. A large Pokémon leapt down from the tree branches above. "Sorry boys, but I don't think these kids should be playing with the likes of you."

The Scrafty growled. "Listen here, lady! This has nothin' to do with you! Move it!"

"Hmmm... Nah!" The new Pokémon attacked the gang again, slamming what looked like a mallet into them. All five of them flung into a tree before scattering with shouts of fear. She knelt down and looked into the tree, revealing herself to the kids. She was a Chesnaught, though she had a nasty burn on her cheek. She was still very pretty. "You kids okay?"

Ember nodded. "Yeah. Thanks, Miss!"

"That was awful nice of you!" Gregory chirped happily. "Are you with the R.T.O.?"

"Me? Nah! I haven't been with them in years! You guys can call me Big Anne." She knelt down and came inside the tree, sitting in the spare nest. "What brings you kids out here?"

Yen grinned. "I'm Yen, and these are Ember and Gregory. We're on our way to Sandstone to join the Rescue Team Organization."

"Really? Well then, I hope you kids become the best team out there. Do you mind if I stay here for the night?"

Ember shook his head. "Not at all. You wanna come with us to Sandstone?"

"May as well." Anne lay down in he nest and smile. "Good night, kids."

"Night!" The kids got settled back down before going back to sleep.

* * *

 _The screams hadn't stopped for days. If one_ _Pokémon couldn't scream anymore, then another took its place._

 _He envied those who stopped. He'd been here for days, maybe even weeks or months, but it only felt like his torture was only just beginning._

 _Magick never let him rest. She wanted his love so badly. She'd do anything to get it. She'd nearly drowned him a few times. Buried him alive about seven or eight. His voice had gone out a few times. It was either death or 'loving' her. He knew he'd rather die than be any kind of relationship with her._

 _Only the thought of seeing the village again kept him sane. He dreamed whenever he was unconscious about his Ember and Ancora waiting for him with Hilda and hi teammates._

 _He prayed that he'd live to see some of that dream come true._


End file.
